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Old Observatory

When the foundation stone for Perth Observatory was laid in October 1896, almost every important person in the city was gathered at the site on Mount Eliza. Not only was the new residence and dome going to examine the night sky, it would also gather meteorological information such as temperature, wind speed and rainfall.

The residence for the Government Astronomer was designed by architect George Temple Poole in 1896, while the dome building to contain the telescope was designed by Sir Howard Grubb the following year. Once completed, astronomer William Earnest Cooke was appointed, and his family moved into the house. Observatory staff had to climb the hill above St George’s Terrace every day to get to work, but the Cooke family was quite isolated living on Mount Eliza. Part of their responsibilities was to look out for bushfires coming from Kings Park.

One additional function of the observatory was to help the residents accurately set their clocks. The observatory used sun-tracking equipment in the transit room, and to tell the people of Perth what the time was there was a canon fired daily at 1:00pm so people could set their watches.

The observatory dome was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the building of Dumas House for government offices, but the former chief astronomer’s house remains, and is now occupied by the National Trust.

Detailed Description

When the foundation stone for Perth Observatory was laid in October 1896, almost every important person in the city was gathered at the site on Mount Eliza. Not only was the new residence and dome going to examine the night sky, it would also gather meteorological information such as temperature, wind speed and rainfall.

The observatory dome was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the building of Dumas House for government offices, but the former chief astronomer’s house remains, and is now occupied by the National Trust.

The residence for the Government Astronomer was designed by architect George Temple Poole in 1896, while the dome building to contain the telescope was designed by Sir Howard Grubb the following year. Once completed, astronomer William Earnest Cooke was appointed, and his family moved into the house. Observatory staff had to climb the hill above St George’s Terrace every day to get to work, but the Cooke family was quite isolated living on Mount Eliza. Part of their responsibilities was to look out for bushfires coming from Kings Park.

One additional function of the observatory was to help the residents accurately set their clocks. The observatory used sun-tracking equipment in the transit room, and to tell the people of Perth what the time was there was a canon fired daily at 1:00pm so people could set their watches.

In 1904 the new Parliament House opened a short way down the hill from the observatory. From the 1920s, the government had plans to use the Observatory site for government departments, however work at the observatory continued until the 1960s.

In the 1960s, the government built Dumas House as government offices and during construction the Dome Building and Transit Room were demolished, with all the equipment transferred to a new observatory at Bickley. The residence also came close to demolition when the government made plans, never realised, to build a further five office towers like Dumas House.

Instead, the National Trust set up their headquarters at the Old Observatory in 1999 and have undertaken a substantial amount of restoration work to the building.